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Target to start growing produce in-house by 2017

Signal of change / Target to start growing produce in-house by 2017

Target is to set up indoor vertical farming systems in its stores this year, thanks to a collaboration with Food + Future CoLab, design firm IDEO and MIT Media Lab. The aim of the pilot is to understand how customers relate to its food. This technology will also be modified and tweaked to allow for agricultural experimentation by farmers and researchers. The team is also adapting the technology to produce Poly, a self-contained growing box to educate school children about indoor farming and the food chain.

So what?

The team has developed a vertical farm, that, under 8,000 square feet, can produce enough to feed an entire neighborhood.

The pilot prompts questions about the potential of vertical farming to achieve food security, with crucial implications for nations with no natural hinterlands, such as Singapore.

Miles used for food-related logistics are being eliminated, with cost savings for business as well as implications for freshness and food loss.